Florida Gators 2023 Recruits to Know: Quarterback
With the 2023 recruiting cycle now officially underway, the Florida Gators are looking to make significant moves on the trail with a new coaching staff in place led by head coach Billy Napier.
Beginning with the quarterback position, AllGators is taking a look at the early targets that have emerged on the Gators' board, as well as prospects that are worth keeping an eye on for an eventual offer.
As things stand, Florida's new staff appears to have only truly offered one quarterback in the class of 2023, that being Christopher Vizzina of Briarwood Christian (Ala.). Napier has met with NFL legacy and 2023's No. 1 QB Arch Manning in person, however, and it can be assumed his offer from the previous staff still stands.
That being said, alongside Manning and Vizzina, here are some quarterbacks to keep an eye on. Expect this list to filter quarterbacks in and out as the 2023 cycle goes on.
Arch Manning, Isidore Newman (La.)
The prize of the entire 2023 recruiting class, Manning, the nephew of NFL Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Peyton and Eli as well as the grandson on former NFL passer Archie, has about as strong of pro football bloodlines that you can find. He's been treated like royalty as such, as blue blood college programs from every corner of the country are pursuing his services.
That group of powerhouses includes Florida, as Napier met with Manning in-person shortly after being named head coach. As a result, UF has reportedly entered the mix that is Manning's current top six schools.
A three-year varsity starter at Isidore Newman, Manning has completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 5,731 yards, 72 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, while rushing for an additional 671 yards and 17 touchdowns on 83 attempts.
Standing at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, Manning possesses a college-ready frame and plenty of both talents and smarts to pair. His pocket presence is, perhaps as expected, already fantastic for a quarterback of his age, and he can make throws to every level of the field with power, accuracy, and timeliness. Unlike his uncles, Manning is athletic enough to pose a threat as a rusher as well.
Christopher Vizzina, Briarwood Christian (Ala.)
Vizzina, as mentioned previously, is the only 2023 quarterback to have publicly reported an offer from Florida's new coaching staff. It's easy to understand why, as the 6-foot-3, 200-pound signal-caller was recruited by the Gators' previous coaching staff, visited the program in Sept. 2021, and has picked up offers from Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, and Auburn among other programs since his trip to UF.
A bigger-bodied dual-threat, Vizzina threw for 2,065 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions with a completion percentage of 68.4 percent, also rushing for 600 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Vizzina is one of the more impressive passers in the class thanks to his ability to make throws off-platform at different angles. He possesses a big arm that pairs power and touch to push the ball outside the numbers and down the field, as well as ample mobility to make throws on the run to both the left and the right. Vizzina trusts his progressions and processes his reads in a timely fashion to take advantage of throwing windows. His intermediate-to-deep accuracy and ball placement are very polished.
Eli Holstein, Zachary (La.) — Texas A&M commit
Although he is currently committed to Texas A&M, Holstein is included on this list due to his Louisiana roots. Of course, Florida's new coaching staff has deep ties to the Bayou State, specifically at the quarterback position as head coach Billy Napier and QB analyst Ryan O'Hara coached at Louisiana-Lafayette over the last four years.
Holstein, 6-foot-3.5, 226 pounds, led his high school to a Louisiana 5A state championship victory this past season, going a perfect 15-0 while Holstein completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 3,228 yards, 30 touchdowns and six interceptions, also rushing for 523 yards and 14 scores.
While Holstein doesn't possess great arm strength, he can make deep throws with touch and has enough power to make quick throws outside of the numbers as well as into intermediate middle throwing windows. He shows poise in the pocket on tape and is willing to take a hit in order to make a throw, and when the timing is right, he's shown the ability to maneuver the pocket and extend plays.
Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Penn State were among the top programs in pursuit of Holstein before his pledge to A&M. Miami and Stanford recently entered the mix of schools to offer as well.
Dante Moore, King (Mich.)
While he's being highly sought after by schools from the north and the midwest, Moore has received plenty of interest from southern programs as well, seen by offers from Georgia and Miami over the last two months.
It appears that Florida is beginning to pursue his services as well. According to 247Sports, Moore is planning to visit Florida in March.
Moore, 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, is a springy athlete within the pocket with crisp footwork who can quickly establish a base and rip a pass, and he has shown the ability to make tight-window throws into the middle of the field as well as down the sidelines. His accuracy and ball placement skills are among the best in his class, as Moore does a good job processing throwing windows and taking advantage of them.
Over his last two varsity seasons, Moore has completed 69.9 percent of his passes for 5,778 yards, 73 touchdowns, and only three interceptions per 247Sports.
Malachi Singleton, North Cobb (Ga.)
One of our favorite prospects on this list, Singleton is an electric dual-threat quarterback who can make teams pay in a variety of ways. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound signal-caller has a huge arm with the ability to make powerful throws to every level of the field, solid anticipation of throwing windows, improving accuracy, and both speed and power to abuse defenses on the ground and extend plays as a passer.
During his junior season, Singleton tossed for 2,168 yards, 21 touchdowns and three interceptions with a 73.1 completion percentage, adding 872 yards and 22 touchdowns across 136 rushing attempts.
Despite his flashy film and impressive stats, Singleton only has ten offers from Power 5 schools, although one is from Georgia. He's shown interest in Florida in the past by taking two visits to the school last year, but the Gators have yet to extend an offer of their own. His lack of national interest could be due to his stouter build, because otherwise, it doesn't make much sense.
Singleton may be one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the class of 2023, but probably won't be for long after a stellar junior season and with camps to come throughout the offseason. Singleton will participate in Under Armour's Next Atlanta camp on Sunday.
Marcus Stokes, Nease (Fla.)
Stokes is a prospect to watch right now as Power 5 offers are beginning to trickle in for the Nease product — of course, Florida fans know this high school as Tim Tebow's alma mater (of sorts, as he was homeschooled but played football at Nease).
Stokes emerged as a starter during his junior season and impressed, leading Nease to the regional finals of its school classification (7A) while tossing for 2,672 yards, 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions with a completion percentage of 58.9%. He also rushed for 496 yards and six touchdowns on 92 attempts.
We've been impressed with Stokes' ability to make deep throws and passes toward the sideline with plenty of velocity. Stokes is capable of breaking off on big runs but his athleticism most often stands out as he moves the pocket to evade pressure and make big-time plays with his arm.
Over the last month, Stokes has added offers from Penn State, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech to his arsenal after previously being pursued by Group of 5 programs. He was an honorable mention top performer at the Under Armour Next Miami camp by Sports Illustrated All-American, and as such, we're expecting plenty more Power 5 schools to come calling in the near future.
The lone in-state quarterback on this list and the highest-rated Florida passer in consensus recruiting rankings, Florida could certainly be one of the schools to eventually show interest in Stokes.
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